Mystery Worshippers and a welcoming church

I wonder how many of us in churches have thought of enlisting the services of a 'mystery worshipper'? The diocese I find myself in offers this wonderful service and it is something that I can recommend as a most valuable exercise.

Thus far we have generally come out well in the reports that follow a visit and what we were told was not only pleasing (apparently we are a warm, welcoming and accessible bunch) but also help us raise our game in areas that we had missed (which were all generally building related).

One of the biggest problems that churches face with regard to welcoming new people is that we regulars tend to smooth out the rough edges and lines blur after a while so that what we see is not what a visitor to our building might see at first glance. The same goes for our services and it is here, especially it seems in the sharing of the peace, that what we see as merely 'being friendly and accepting' can be interpreted by visitors as a complete and utter madhouse. Comfort zones are a personal item and these can be trampled upon with a hearty hug and a holy kiss, after all there are many for whom even eye-contact of a handshake is a cause fo concern.

So why not find someone to be your mystery worshipper and have a go at looking at you church and the services they have through the eyes of a visitor? You might be pleasantly surprised (and better still, so might any visitor as a result of what you find).

A little video which makes you laugh a bit (and hopefully think a lot):



Happy Friday